Oh hail Biafra
For it is the origin of my father’s long actualize
For how long will it take for freedom to speak
Go tell the pregnant country that the time of delivery is now
The north don’t want you, the west either
Come together, come as one
For a single stick from a broom does not sweep
For oneness is like the sky above indestructible
For I can hear the cry of the passed heroes
Stand up Biafra
Go tell all your brothers home and away
To come and actualize this dream
To a greater paradise
Where freedom will be welcomed
Stand up Biafra
For the time is now
For Biafran yet unborn
For how long will this suffering continue?
1967 to 1970 should be a craving for Biafra
Wait Biafra
Take a reminiscence
You I’ve stabbed your own from the back
like pig that eats her piglets
Moving shadows of bones
While cry for self-Armageddon
While you can sit with your brothers
Comments
a strong statement
I remember the time when Biafra was in the news every day, as over half a million starved to death and many others died in combat. It has not been in the public eye here (USA) for decades. Your images are well constructed for the effect they want.
I am in the process of trying to organize a workshop on West African Poetry in English. I want to learn more about the culture and poetry of the region, for which Wole Soyinka seem to be the only known name outside the region. Please join us!!
I volunteer my time to a US refugee/asylum group, and many are from Nigeria. I have been working with them on many aspects to help them integrate into American culture. One issue of this very educated group is accent...making themselves understood in because the strong African/English accent is so hard for most Americans to understand. The second is grammar. Accent is no issue for you and your poems. But the grammar is occasionally not consistent with common grammar used here. Examples
The north DOESN'T want you, the west either
Like A pig that eats its piglets
Also the placing of the adjective behind the noun is a unique and I think African way, like
For oneness is like the sky above indestructible
I would encourage this aspect of dialect, as long as it is consciously done for effect. This aspect of the difference is one of the many things we look at in our workshop.
The only other thing I noticed was, for me, the overuse of the word "for". some of them can be easily removed without affecting the poem.
Biafra will start its journey
Biafra will start her journey to actualization when her people begin to learn to be one, speak with one voice. Apart from these, Biafra will remain a mere pipe dream. Nice composition Chiori and thanks for sharing.